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The PulteGroup Land Legacy Fund—launched in 2005 under the name Centex Land Legacy Fund—has protected more than 73,000 acres of critical conservation lands thanks to Pulte's generous investment.

Centex created an innovative relationship with the Fund to help protect environmentally sensitive land parcels. As a revolving fund, this program is different from others because investments are temporary and the dollars eventually are returned to the fund for future investments. The fund continues to operate with the original permanent donation Centex made six years ago.

Rather than let this donation sit idle, PulteGroup talked with the Fund about reactivating the program and putting the existing dollars back to work. We already have identified initial opportunities for us to get involved in protecting important land parcels in Arizona and Texas. Just like it was in 2005 when Centex first established the fund, investing in the conservation of sensitive land resources continues to be a win-win-win: for us, for the markets in which we operate and most important, for the environment.

You can't build a single home on PulteGroup's latest land purchase

The Fund has employed the ready capital of the PulteGroup Land Legacy Fund to purchase top-priority lands in geographies of interest to PulteGroup and its employees. Since its launch, the PulteGroup fund has supplied critical bridge financing toward 21 conservation projects in 14 states, leveraging additional conservation dollars and achieving dramatic results for wetlands, forests, and waterways from coast to coast.

The PulteGroup fund is used to pay for options, title searches, appraisals, surveys, environmental assessments, upfront staff costs, interest in fee and the purchase of conservation easements. As loans from the PulteGroup Land Legacy Fund are repaid by state and federal appropriations or philanthropic gifts, monies are available to support future conservation projects.

Continued Investments

Allegheny Mountains—Cedar Creek Property, VA

Total acres:........................4,233

Fair market value:...$6,350,000

This remarkable property includes unfragmented mixed hardwood and conifer forestlands running along 10 miles of Short Hills, a prominent range in the Allegheny Mountains. Cedar Creek, the stream that runs under Virginia's famous Natural Bridge is just east of the property. The land is habitat for many native species, including black bear, deer, turkey, ruffed grouse, bobcat, fox, beaver, songbirds and raptors. Additionally, the land contains a unique plant community under watch by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and is near other protected lands, creating the perfect opportunity to bridge these areas through green corridors.

Adams County, PA

Total acres:..........................2,568

Fair market value:...$12,500,000

At the headwaters of the Nanticoke River, the Fund recently protected more than 2,000 acres of land in the Glatfelter Forest. This significant tract marks the completion of a three-year, multiphased project of more than 5,000 acres—some of the last vast forested lands in this area. Within the Chesapeake and Delaware bay watersheds, this area will be preserved for recreational opportunities and wildlife viewing. True to our mission of integrating economic and environmental goals, a portion of the forest will be set aside for managed timberland.

Big River Salmon Creek, CA

Total acres:.........................16,050

Fair market value:...$52,250,000

Through a partnership between The Conservation Fund, the state of California’s Water Resources Control Board, Coastal Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Board, and with support from Dallas-based Centex and ACE Group, approximately 16,000 acres of redwood and Douglas fir forests surrounding Big River and Salmon Creek were protected permanently from fragmentation, development and conversion to nonforest uses. Click here to learn more about the Big River Salmon Creek project.